That was an excellent display from ZZ’s team. They were better in the first half, clung on when Atleti showed vim and purpose at the start of the second half, and finished the game with precision on the counter-attack. Cristiano Ronaldo showed his insatiable thirst for goals, and will receive the headlines, but everyone played well for Real. Atleti did OK, but once Savic had made the mistake for the penalty it looked like a bridge too far. They’re now nine points off the pace – it’s hard to see them winning the title from here, although stranger things have happened.
Thanks for reading. Good night.
Full-time: Atlético Madrid 0-3 Real Madrid
Terrific late save from Navas to keep the score at 3-0. And that’s the whistle!
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90 min +1 Two minutes added on. Real are heading four points clear.
90 min Carrasco does really well to wriggle away from a posse of defenders, but that’s a great block from Nacho. Real determined to keep their clean sheet intact.
88 min Real hammer it clear. At the other end, Modric heads over from Carvajal’s cross. That was a chance for four.
86 min Atleti are still persevering here. Navas pushes Carrasco’s shot round the post.
84 min Ronaldo exits, and in comes James Rodriguez. Three more goals from Ronaldo today, and I think that’s now eight La Liga goals this season.
83 min Real happy to play for time. This could end up being a statement win.
81 min Correa wanted a penalty after Carvajal’s challenge, but it’s only a corner. Godin is free, but he misses his kick! That rather sums up Atleti’s day.
80 min Benzema replaces Isco. Isco’s been terrific.
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78 min Bale accelerated away from Juanfran as Atleti poured forward, and showed tremendous stamina to continue in the box and find Ronaldo with a perfectly weighted cross. The Portuguese tapped home from six yards, and this is turning into a rout.
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GOAL! Atlético Madrid 0-3 Real Madrid (Ronaldo 77)
Oh my. Cristiano Ronaldo gets his hat-trick! What a player this man is. That’s game over.
75 min This has been an excellent team performance from Real. They had to defend for about 15 minutes at the start of this half, when Atleti emerged with fury, but they did it well, and now they’ve got a clear cushion. Atleti look glum right now.
73 min Simeone turned away in disgust when Savic committed that foul. He knew. No red for Savic, though – maybe Fernandez Borbalan didn’t think he was stopping a clear goalscoring opportunity.
71 min It was a ball over the top, and Savic missed it, and in trying to recover, he clipped Ronaldo from behind. Godin received a yellow card for his protests, but it looked as though the ref got it right. Ronaldo stepped up, and calmly slotted it in the corner. Surely that’s three points for Real.
GOAL! Atlético Madrid 0-2 Real Madrid (Ronaldo 71 pen)
And Ronaldo sends Oblak the wrong way!
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Penalty to Real Madrid!
Savic on Ronaldo!
69 min Over everyone, and out for a goal kick.
68 min Real, remember, would go four points clear of Barcelona with victory today, and nine points clear of Atleti. Isco fizzes a shot from 25 yards that Oblak does very well to get fingertips to. It might have been going wide, but Oblak wasn’t prepared to take that chance. Corner to Real.
66 min Carrasco hits one from 20 yards, but it’s no problem for Navas.
62 min Minor disagreement between Ronado and Koke, and both players go into the book. There was some forehead-on-forehead action for a moment, rather like rutting stags, but no harm done.
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60 min Real have just weathered that opening salvo from Atleti, and a spell of possession is most welcome. Double change for Atleti: Correa on for Gabi, and Gameiro for Torres.
57 min Now Atleti are forced to defend. Isco dinks it into the penalty area from the left side, and Ronaldo is inches away from getting on the end of it. But here’s a free kick from the right side, and Bale heads over! Beautiful service from Modric, and Bale got up so much higher than Filipe Luis, but couldn’t keep it down.
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56 min This has been a really fine response from Atletico. It’s fair to assume Simeone kicked some arse at half-time.
54 min Carrasco wins a corner on the left side. Vicente Calderon is rocking now. Varane heads clear, Carrasco tosses it back in, but Real hump it clear a second time.
52 min Isco hits one from 30 yards, and Ronaldo tries to divert it past Oblak with a delicate flick. He’s called for offside, but again, I don’t think he was.
51 min Griezmann again! The Frenchman pinched Modric’s pocket, and let fly from 25 yards. He hit it well, but it was straight at Navas. More excellent hustle from the hosts, though. Where was this Atleti in the first half?
49 min Now Griezmann fires across the face of goal! Excellent, positive start here from the hosts: they’ve really pushed Real back.
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48 min Great effort from Carrasco! Keylor Navas was scrambling there – he just hit it from about 30 yards, and it wasn’t too far over the bar. Good start from Atleti in this second half.
46 min We’re back. No changes from either side.
An excellent first-half display from Zidane’s team, and they have a deserved lead. The goal, when it came, owed much a large deflection, so in that sense Atleti are a little unlucky, but Real have been the better team: they’ve passed it better, and enjoyed the better chances. Atleti are doing OK, but they’re struggling to make things happen in front of goal. Griezmann’s been peripheral.
See you shortly for the second half.
Half-time: Atlético Madrid 0-1 Real Madrid
That’s the whistle.
44 min That goal, by the way, puts Cristiano Ronaldo just one behind the great Alfredo di Stefano for goals scored in the derby. Ronaldo now has 16.
43 min Torres has done some determined work in the channels, but Atleti haven’t really created a clear opening. Keylor Navas hasn’t been extended to any great degree.
41 min More whistles from the home fans, after Torres went dow in search of a free kick. Nothing given, but they do win a corner, which is wasted.
39 min Modric’s corner, but it’s defended well by Atleti.
38 min Excellent spell os possession from Real, and Marcelo has a go from the edge of the box. It’s deflected. Corner.
36 min Nice work down the right side from Atleti, but no one could read Torres’s flick from Carrasco’s cross.
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34 min Isco’s been excellent so far, and that was a big let-off for Atleti – Isco ran clear of the defence, only to be called back for a non-existent offside.
32 min Atleti win a free kick on the left. Headed clear, and Gabi hits it first time on the volley, but it’s blocked. Then Marcelo finds Isco with a lovely long pass, but Isco is whistled for an offside. I think he was level.
31 min Super turn from Ronaldo to completely fool Godin, after Isco’s raking pass, but his shot is straight at Oblak. Shame.
30 min Half an hour gone, and Real should be extremely content. They’ve been the better side, and have established a degree of control in midfield thanks to some clever passing.
28 min Koke swings one in from the right side, but Navas holds under pressure from Torres. Nacho is down, and we’ll pause for a moment.
26 min Gabi is booked for a wild lunge on Modric. Atleti just need to calm themselves here.
24 min Well, what a slice of misfortune for the hosts. Ronaldo hit it straight at the wall, but it came off Varane, I think, and totally deceived Oblak. Big, big deflection. Real have been the better side, but that’s an unfortunate goal to concede.
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GOAL! Atlético Madrid 0-1 Real Madrid (Ronaldo 23)
Deflected, and Real lead! Ronaldo!
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22 min Savic fouls Vazquez 25 yards from goal. Chance here.
20 min Isco wins a corner off Juanfran. Real take it short, and Marcelo fires it in, dangerously, but no one can get the vital touch. Now Modric with a shot! Oblak saves, and holds on. Real on top here.
19 min Gabi bumps Ronaldo from behind, and David Fernandez Borbalan says no foul. Ronaldo is in disbelief, and the jeers from the home fans increase just a touch.
17 min Bale looks to have started from the left, by the way. Isco just playing off Ronaldo for now.
16 min Real just beginning to purr in midfield. Modric, as always, at the heart of things. Vazquez has time and space on the right side, but his cross is much too long, and out of play for a goal kick.
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13 min It’s been really watchable so far. That was counter-attacking at its best from Real just now, and the save was top-notch.
11 min What a save from Oblak! Isco did brilliantly to get away and feed Marcelo on the left, and he crossed beautifully for Cristiano Ronaldo, unmarked, but Oblak pushed it clear from right on his goalline! Ronaldo got great power, and headed it down, but the Slovenian did really well to get react. Ronaldo thought he’d scored. What a stop!
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9 min Saul with a chance! Great run from the midfielder, and it’s delivered impeccably by Koke over the top of the defence, but Saul just can’t wrap his foot round it, and it bobbles wide. Good run and pass, though.
8 min A pleasing start. Not too much cynicism, villainy or ill will so far, but it’s early days, I suppose.
6 min It’s hotting up here, and Carrasco and Filipe Luis combine on the left side, before Vazquez is called for a foul right on the byline. This is a good chance from the set piece, and it’s fizzed in, but Marcelo does really well to clear from inside his six-yard box. That was a heart-in-mouth moment for Real.
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5 min Now a corner for Real. Taken short, and Isco then tried to cross from the left, but it’s disappointing, and Atleti head clear.
3 min Early free kick for Atleti on the right, and Koke tosses it in, but Real defend diligently, and it’s cleared.
2 min The pitch is vivid green, but I described it as a billiard table earlier, which is overstating the case: it looks a little heavy, actually. Rather more like a billiard table at the local Madrid YMCA, perhaps.
1 min And we’re off. Are you excited?
A special day today, incidentally: it’s the final derby to be played at Vicente Calderon, before Atleti head to La Peineta, their new arena on the east side of Madrid, in time for the 2017-18 season. This famous old stadium will be demolished, and a park built in its stead.
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To while away the few minutes before we get going, here’s a report of the Barça-Malaga stalemate from earlier:
We’re about seven minutes away from kick-off. The playing surface at the Vicente Calderon looks smooth as a billiard table, and green enough to give you a headache.
Late drama in north London:
So Antoine Griezmann is fit to start, and he’ll play in attack alongside Fernando Torres. Ronaldo and Bale start for Real, but Sergio Ramos has to make to do with a place on the bench.
Tonight's teams
Atlético Madrid: Oblak, Juanfran, Savic, Godin, Filipe Luis, Koke, Gabi, Niguez, Carrasco, Torres, Griezmann. Subs: Correa, Hernandez, Tiago, Gameiro, Gaitan, Moya, Vrsaljko.
Real Madrid: Navas, Carvajal, Varane, Nacho, Marcelo, Kovacic, Modric, Isco, Vazquez, Bale, Ronaldo. Subs: Casilla, Danilo, Ramos, Coentrao, Asensio, Rodriguez, Benzema.
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Hello and welcome
The Madrid derby: one of Europe’s biggest fixtures, and a game that has wider implications after an interesting result from earlier. Barcelona could only manage a 0-0 at home with Malaga, which means Real, who are still unbeaten in La Liga this season, can go four points clear at the top with victory.
Real, though haven’t beaten Atleti in the league for three seasons. Admittedly, they have beaten them in the final of the Champions League twice in that time, but Diego Simeone’s team have a good recent record against their rivals, after that preposterous period between 1999 and 2013 when Atleti couldn’t buy a win.
Lots of class and quality on display today, too, but Atleti could do without losing: they lie in fifth, and a loss today could mean the end of their hopes of an 11th La Liga title.
Kick-off’s in about 45 minutes. This should be fun.
Tim will be here shortly. In the meantime, here’s a fun Joy of Six:
In the 120th minute a crossed free-kick sparked a scramble. Fernando Muslera, the Uruguay goalkeeper, was all over the place after missing a punch and the defender Jorge Fucile and Suárez both scrambled to the line. Suárez first blocked a certain match-winning goal with his knee, and when the rebound was headed back into the goalmouth, he beat the ball off the line with both hands. It was desperate and blatant and Suárez was sent off, but Ghana had a second chance to score the decisive goal. Gyan stepped forward and crashed the biggest penalty in Ghana’s history against the bar – to wild celebrations by Suárez in the tunnel – and Uruguay triumphed in the ensuing shootout over the shellshocked Ghanaians.
Ghana were devastated but it was a special moment for Uruguay, a football-crazed country who had reached their first semi-final in more than 50 years. As Gus Poyet passionately put it: “You are telling me the player had to let the ball go in? Is that football? I think you call it cheating when you try to score a goal with the hand, to take advantage when the referee cannot see that. But everybody saw that. The referee saw that. He gave the red card. Suárez put himself in front of the whole country and because of that Uruguay is in the semi-finals.”
